Truly Yamani
by Crysanth
Summary: Over 100 years before Keladry of Mindelan ever visited the Yamani Isles, three children would shape the future. Hali, the heir to the throne; Gabriel, her philosophical twin; and J, a dark young girl, more important than she would ever know. ABANDONED.
1. Prologue

**Life Is Stronger than Death**

At the outskirts life intrudes  
Upon the sanctum of the dead,  
And brushes green fingers over  
The grey stone at his head.

The monument, its occupant  
May well be displeased,  
But they are powerless in their stupor  
Against the life of trees.

_**In the Yamani Isles, The Emperor's Palace at Xiala**_

_Keladry sat with the group of other children, listening to the Yamani elder. The night was cool and the cicadas chirped loudly in the bushes and trees, but the grass was soft and the lanterns illuminated the small clearing enough so that she could pick out features and and some colors in the darkness. For the most part, however, her world consisted solely of the gentle breeze, the scent of flowers and rain, and the low, musical voice of the elder, Saangi. The rustlings of the other children were unimportant, the drifting chatter from the party ignored._

_"Many of you have heard this story before. Many of you have it nearly memorized, I know. And for others of you-" she looked at Kel with a smile, "This will be your first time hearing it. It is the tale of how the Yamani Isles came to be as they are today. More importantly, however, it is a tale about finding your true self and being happy with your life, with who you have become." She stopped to catch her breath. The moon shone down at an angle, half-full and a little more. The wind in the branches creaked and groaned, like they, too, were in suspense._

_"Now," said Saangi, "Let me begin...

* * *

_

The woman's high pitched wailing sounded throughout the corridor, echoing eerily even further off. In the entrance hall, some with better hearing paused a moment to wonder about the keening.

Inside the room, it was a different story. One of the maids had had a nervous breakdown and hid behind the tapestries. Two nurses had stuffed their ears with candlewax to mute the terrifying screams. The woman thrashed in the bed, sending bedclothes flying and maids running.

The blue-robed Wave-walker priestess, Kisha, sweaty and harried, tossed dried agrimony over the large bed and murmured a blessing. Her red Gift glimmered in the air for a moment, and the woman's screams softened to quiet moans and whimpers of pain.

"My child, where is my child? I must see him, my child, give him to me!" Her voice was hoarse, her eyes wild. The nursemaid cradled the newborn boy in her arms, handing him carefully to his mother. In a few moments the child was snatched back by the nurse as the mother went into convulsions again.

"It's twins! The Wave-walker has intervened," murmured Kisha. "A sign of a great change and prosperity."

The nurse started and held out the male child. "And look, Mistress! His hair!" The little boy's head was a beautiful shade of golden blond, and his eyes, as he blinked at her, were blue as dew-misted periwinkles. By contrast, the girl-infant had the typical black hair and black eyes of most Yaman.

Sudden shrieks from the mother. The priestess started, stood, and handed the new child to the nursemaid to be cleaned. She cast her scarlet Gift over the bed where it wavered hazily, then disappeared. Trying to hide the shameful tears in her eyes, the priestess turned away. "Internal bleeding. My lady has been taken by the gods."

"No!" cried the nurse. "No! Lady Kira. She can't be…gone. With two new children." She caught the look on the priestess's lined brow and remembered her place, lapsing into smooth-faced silence.

Kisha laid a hand on her shoulder. "Go tell the guards to inform the emperor that his wife is dead, and that both of the children are well. There are others that need my aid."

* * *

The next room over, the midwife and her daughter, a girl of eight were tending a newborn. The woman there was dead as well. The sheets were soaked in blood. There were no Gifted, no experienced nursemaids, and no robed priests ready to bless the newborn, nor guards at the door. A solitary fly buzzed about the ceiling, and a nasty stench hung in the air.

The room was entirely silent until Kisha burst in, perspiring and panting. "Is she well?"

"The mother is dead. The daughter isn't doing much better."

Suddenly Acacia, the midwife's daughter, let out a shriek. "Lady Priestess! Her hair! It's… It's…." In desperation, she held out the child. Her head, previously covered with a black fluff, had somehow faded… to silver. Her eyelashes, eyebrows looked as though laced with snow. Within seconds the girl held out a white haired child. The midwife grabbed the child.

"We must drown the curst thing. It will die anyway. Acacia, don't watch."

The priestess Kisha held out a hand. "No. We mustn't anger the gods. The girl must live and play out the course of destiny."

"But it will surely bring ruin upon us all, Mistress. We-"

"Mala. Please leave." Kisha's voice was strained. The foreign midwife gulped in a sort of nervous spasm and turned white, save two spots of red high on her cheekbones.

"Forgive me, Lady Priestess. Come, Acacia." The little girl laid the infant on the blood soaked sheets and ran out after her mother.

The priestess looked at the baby, then picked her up and laid a smooth cool hand on her forehead, brushing back the silvery hair. A few murmured syllables and the cold infant was enveloped in the wavering warmth of her Gift.

"You will live, little one. Death is easy; life is hard. I may be doing you no favor. But when life appears in the midst of death, it is not simple to sweep it away." She paused, and then gently tickled the girl under her chin. "Especially in one so stubborn as you. I'll name you Jiikira, the little snowflake. Good luck, child."

Taking the child in her arms, she left the hot, stinking room and the child's mother behind.

**(A/N: The poem at the top was written by Dominic thedom.)**


	2. Hali

**The Yamani Isles- the Emperor's Palace, the Courtyard**

J sat under the sweeping willow by the pond, her small fingers braiding the reeds clumsily, but with painstaking care. Her hair was waist-long by now, and the silver strands kept getting tangled in the weave and pulled out. She was frustrated- tears came to her warm brown eyes and one trickled down her dirty cheek, leaving a trail, like a snail might, in the grime.

Mistress Kisha had told her to entertain herself- she and her assistant Adi had to take care of some ill people. J had wandered about, trying to keep out of trouble and out of the way, but she couldn't think of what to do, until she saw the willow. Memories of Mistress Kisha braiding her own hair in the long, complex pattern she kept hidden under her coif. Braiding J's hair, too, sometimes, into a long white rope that wound round and round her head. J had decided that she would try to make one of the pretty water reed crowns that some of the village boys and girls would make, and give to each other to gain favor.

That day, Willin, the stable hand, had made one for a village girl who had come with the caravan, whom he fancied. J had watched carefully as he wove he reeds and tied in some flowers, then set off to find the pretty Thea. Jiikira observed sympathetically as he came upon her kissing Markus, the smith's apprentice, but didn't wait to watch the following confrontation. She instead returned to the pond and set to work making her own crown, trying to mimic the stable hand's movements. The result was a knot of reeds, mud, hair, and gunk that seemed to have been cemented together.

* * *

J didn't like to be left alone to her own devices. Most grown-ups assumed that, having been raised by High Priestess Kisha, she would be used to distant, cold treatment. They didn't see Kisha when it was just them two, brushing J's stark white hair and braiding it carefully, telling her stories of far-off land and magic. Grown-ups avoided her, the girl with the white hair. She was bad luck.

As for child companions, they were few and far to come by in the Palace. Because she was a ward of the High Priestess, the guards and commoners were polite to a certain extent, but they wouldn't let their children play with her, and they wouldn't be her friend.

Children of nobles, lords and ladies were so suppressed that they could scarcely move for fear of losing their families' good grace with the Lord Emperor. They would bow as to a lesser in rank, inquire politely after Kisha's health, and lapse into blank-faced passivity. Any more conversation than that made J feel positively loquacious, and not in a good way.

She turned again to the messily woven twine of willow twigs and slowly began the tedious task of loosening and undoing the veritable rock of stalks and leaves and cobwebs and hair. Her fingers were rubbed red and the thought of beginning anew made her want to cry.

But she was eight. Eight-year-olds didn't cry like little babies of seven, or even six, she knew. Kisha had told her. Eight-year-olds were patient and creative and found ways to amuse themselves, better than little seven-year-olds. J was eight and she would not cry.

She still couldn't bring herself to start, and instead just looked at the little pond and the frogs hiding in the mud, and the soft grass and the flowers. There was a stream from where the underground spring filled the pond and smooth rocks with water-moss. She liked it. It was tranquil, every bit of it- the buzzing of the flies, the warm sun. It felt friendly.

She leaned against the willow's trunk, its mossy roots cradling her and her hair blanketing her to keep off the flies. In the warm sun and soft grass, J fell into an early springtime sleep.

* * *

When she awoke, something seemed different. The entire area around her was tensed, the focus of the buzzing more excited. J didn't have to look far to figure it out- crouched just two feet away was Hali, the crown princess. J squeaked in surprise, just loud enough to alert the other girl to her new, wakened state, and toppled headfirst into the pond.

Muck coated the inside of her throat and her eyes, and weeds and algae tangled in her hair. She sank, trying to locate the bottom of the pond and swim through the mud. A hand seized the back of her dress and yanked her out of the pond, where she crouched, hacking and coughing up all of the muddy water and pulling the weeds out of her grime-streaked hair.

"Eeugh," she grumbled, then looked up. It couldn't have been Hali pulling her out of the water. Maybe it was just a villager who looked like Hali. But no, she had a small gold circlet, proving her the heir to the throne. And as if that wasn't enough, the girl thrust out her hand and said solemnly, "Hi. I'm Hali."

"J.," said J. dazedly.

"You're really very muddy," observed Princess Hali.

"I guess so."

"You ought to tidy before dinner. There's the evening bell now."

J jumped, startled. _I couldn't have been asleep for so long!_ But Hali was right- the low clang of the bell rang through the courtyard, instigating a flurry of movement as everyone hurried to prepare for dinner. The baker's wife was tying on her new bonnet; Thea the village girl pulled away from Markus reluctantly to get dressed; a maid chased the chickens off of the steps and the guards stood straight and stopped playing cards.

J stood frozen, heart thumping. Kisha would be expecting her back by now, clean and ready to have her hair done up and her fancy dress put on. Here she sat, full across the palace, hair tangled, barefooted, soaking wet and covered in mud.

Hali seemed to sense her anxiety. "Relax. Haven't you ever been late to dinner before?

J shook her head mutely. Hali sighed, exasperated. "I guess that's what comes of being raised by a priestess. You turn into a goody-goody."

"What? Nuh-uh!"

"Well, come on then. I know a place where we can get you cleaned up. Come on!"

* * *

"A water barrel? You can't be serious," protested J. "There's no way I'm getting in there. It's got to be freezing!"

Hali grinned a cockeyed grin. " Not quite. The smith dips hot metal in there to cool it off, so it's like a hot bath." She paused. "Well, sort of. But if you're too prissy, you can be a wimp and go crying to Priestess Kisha. I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you in this state.

J. sighed. "I can't go, no matter if I'm dirty or not. My dress is stained, and a little water won't help."

Hali frowned. "That is an issue. You can have one of mine- you're about my size, but your Mama Kisha will know you've been playing in the mud."

"I wasn't-"

"Unless I can ask the maids to fetch one of yours. I just hope I can find Lia. She won't tell, but Asha and Zi will. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, go ahead and get washed."

"But I'll be soaked-"

"You're already soaked. The difference is, you'll be clean. See ya!" Hali ran back through the back alley they had used to get there with a wink and a wave.

J looked at the the barrel and took a deep breath. _Here goes._

Only the chattering of her teeth muted her strangled yelp as she splashed into the frigid water.

* * *

"You look fine. Stop fidgeting and let me do the talking. We might even be on time."

Hali, who was much more skilled at weaving than J, had braided J's hair so that it hid the worst of the tangles. J was clean, for the most part, and her new kimono hid the dirty pair of sandals on her feet. "Thanks," said J. "I might even be able to avoid hypothermia."

"Quit overreacting. You'll be fine." Hali herself looked the picture of perfection, the charming and pretty young princess, the epitome of obedience and elegance. Her black hair was done up in an intricate bun, and not a thread was astray on her silk kimono. As an added bonus, she had tucked a bundle of pond lilies in her hair. J could only hope that she didn't look like a complete savage next to the heir to the throne.

They entered the Hall, where the feast that would begin the Wave-walker festival would be held. Kisha wore her bright blue ceremonial robes and appeared to be consulting with several important people, but when she saw J she excused herself and stalked over.

"Jiikira! _Where have you been?_ We've been looking everywhere for you!" She saw Hali and paused, and then looked back to J. "Explain yourself."

Hali stepped up,and with a smile that would have completely won the heart of the toughest old soldier, said "Jiikira and I were getting to know each other. We didn't notice the time. I am very sorry for our troubling you in any way."

Kisha frowned. "I've no doubt you had something to do with this too, Princess, so don't think you're off the hook. But I want to know what Jiikira's been up to."

"Practicing... my embroidery?"

Kisha reached behind J's ear and tugged something from her braid. A strand of pond weed.

"I think this speaks for itself. Lying is a sin, Jiikira. You know better than anyone than you, of all people, _cannot_ grow up to be a sinful person, or we may all be in danger." She paused, and the lines on her brow smoothed a little. "But you are a child, and children make mistakes. Perhaps I can let it pass this once." She eyed Hali. "For both of you."

The girls hugged her and ran off to join the festivities.

_I only hope that it is not a mistake. Guide them, Wave-walker._


	3. The WaveWalker Festival

**The Yamani Isles- the Emperor's Palace, the Courtyard**

"Don't I look stunning?" Hali posed with some pretty glass bangles and an iridescent necklace that matched her sky-blue kimono.

J. frowned. "Haven't you had enough looking around through the booths? I want to see the acrobats and the Shang Phoenix."

Hali looked up from the mirror-glass. "Is it starting? Let's go now then, we have to get good seats! Everyone will be there."

"I've heard that the Phoenix is so quick, she can blow up a gale with a single hit and put out ten torches a league off! And that she can kill an angry moose with just one hand, and-"

"Well, you'll never find out if you sit here yapping, will you?" Hali took a tight grip on J's sleeve and dragged her away. Again.

Hali. She was so forceful, and determined and enthusiastic about everything. It probably came from being a Crown Princess; she had grown up in a world where her word was law, where she had been given her every wish as soon as it was spoken. No one had dared to cross her as an infant, and she had grown up as a domineering young thing.

It wasn't snobbery, exactly. She was friendly and helpful and kind- her friendship with J, the lonely ward of the Priestess proved that. But she had a certain way of... well, dragging a person off when she wanted to go somewhere. As now.

"Please, sir, we just were wondering if-" Hali was trying to sweet talk the guard into letting them in early to see the performers get ready for the big show.

"No."

"But my friend and I-"

"No."

She frowned, unused to resistance. "Why not?"

"Lelani Bakkuri, the Shang Phoenix, has requisitioned me specifically with the instruction that outsiders _not_ be allowed in before the show. If you'd like to have some distraction to pass the time , there are puppet shows over by that kusai stand. Now please leave."

Hali and J. bowed, although it seemed that Hali couldn't help but pull a face at their failure before they left.

J. was in a blissful cloud of excited happiness. She had never exactly had any _friends_. She had played with the village children and the caravan children when they were both so young that they never noticed that she was different, nor she they. J's bizzare hair was simply an interesting detail, the fact that she lived with the head priestess in the palace just a fact, simple and plain, nothing more. Around the last year or so, they turned from her, or just looked surprised when she spoke to them, even girls and boys that she had known for years.

But that Princess Hali had seemingly selected _her _for a friend! J. found herself double-checking every move that she made, making sure that it wasn't the wrong one. But Hali seemed not to mind her awkwardness, her social deficiency. And she hadn't blinked an eye at her hair- but then, she would have heard about that before she met J.

They sat on the edge of the fountain where the kusai vendor had set up shop. J. hated kusai- heavily spiced strips of dried fish- but Hali apparently loved it. She was in fish heaven, gobbling down trays as fast as she could order them.

"Eucch," muttered J. She hadn't intended to actually be heard, just to privately verbalize her disgust at the overpoweringly strong stench of kusai spices and the rotting fish heads in the garbage. Hali being Hali, however, heard it and ceased her rapid-fire guzzling.

"You _don't like kusai_? What kind of savage are you? Kusai is a delicacy."

"I'm not big on fish in general. They look so... slimy."

"They are slimy," confirmed Hali. "But the meat is yummy! Really!"

"I'll take your word for it."

"Someday," Hali announced, "I will educate you on the true delights of seafood. But not today. Today I'm too hungry to be unselfish and give you some. But one day, you will have kusai! A whole plateful."

J privately thanked Kisha's goddess, Wave-walker, that Hali was not feeling selfless enough to educate her in fish theology. She could easily picture the strong-willed girl force-feeding her kusai as she flailed hopelessly, trying to escape. It was a distinct possibility. J made up her mind to stay far away from the topic of fish in their conversations.

"So, Jiikira, I was wondering-"

"Could you call me J?"

"What?"

"Only Kisha calls me Jiikira. I'm more used to J."

"Um, okay. Are you trying to change the subject?" She glared at J with sudden suspicion.

"What topic? All you said was, 'So, Jiikira,' before I cut you off. How could I change the topic if you never introduced it in the first place?"

Hali held up a regal index finger. "Good point. But it could be preventative subject-changing."

"It wasn't! Really!" J held out both hands in a gesture of peace.

"Hm. But anyway, I was wondering about something Priestess Kisha said to you. Something about how you couldn't grow up to be sinful? I don't know. But I was just curious."

J laughed cheerfully. "Oh, that. She says that the Gods-oracle had some vision when I was little, about how if I grew up to be vengeful and sinful and evil, all of the Yamani Isles would pay." She looked up at Hali for confirmation. "But that's all silly, right? I mean, just something she says to keep me in line? It's not like it's actually true."

Hali looked serious for once. "It must be true. Kisha's sworn to the Wave-walker, so she's always got to be truthful. And the Gods-Oracle is physically unable to lie. If they do, they're consumed by fire and reduced to a pile of ash." She paused. "Plus, the priests had an omen about me and my brother, too. That's why it's me that's the heir, not him, even though he was born first. The Gods-Oracle had an omen that I was born to lead, and that he should never be trained in the art of war. My father takes omens very seriously. _His_ father ignored them and died because of it. Honest."

"Well," said J, trying to lighten the suddenly oppressive feel of the topic, "It only matters if I grow up to be evil, right?"

Hali grinned. "Right. You're such a goody-two-shoes that we've got nothing to worry about at all."

* * *

The girls were sitting in the foremost part of the crowd as the show began. It was dark out by this time, and beginning to chill. Colored lanterns were set up, and torches ringed the arena. Acrobats on horses juggled torches as they circled a mage who was creating colored tongues of flame. There were fan-tossers and warriors, but J just felt impatient.

Finally, the Phoenix came on stage. She was a plain woman in her upper forties, clad in an old-fashioned warrior's outfit, with a mostly black tunic that fit her well, and some long pants that flared widely at the thigh, but were bound tightly down her lower calf, permitting movement. Her sandals were tightly laced, and she wore elbow-length gloves, also in black. She melted into the night like a panther stalking its prey.

Her first opponent was a foreign warrior, a challenger from the land of Tortall across the seas. He wasn't very bulky; he looked lithe and quick. He wore little armor, unlike last year's opponent. He had battle scars- Lelani Bakkuri had some too, but all from old battles, back when she was younger and untrained. No one could catch her now, not even her old teachers.

The two opponents bowed to one another. The slim, sandy-haired Tortallan warrior with eyes like a hawk, and the older Lelani, studied and fluid in her movements. The master of ceremonies stood.

The master of ceremonies, known to all simply as "Master", was a dashing man. He was tall, with long smooth black hair affixed with a carved abalone clip. It was engraved with waves and mage-symbols for bravery and courage. About a hundred young ladies swooned behind their fans as he spoke in a clear, ringing voice. "The challenger, Sir Rallin of the land Tortall, across the seas, duels Lelani Bakkuri in a one-on-one fight. May the Wave-walker oversee this battle and may the best warrior win."

Master paused, his impassive gray eyes scanning the crowd. "This battle will be fought on foot. Each contestant has been equipped with a single knife. They were each given regulation armor. Neither chose to wear it." Everyone laughed appreciatively. Last year, the opponent from Tortall had worn so much armor that he could scarcely stand up straight. He had looked awfully silly as he sat there and Lelani beat him senseless, through the armor.

"It looks like we'll have a real fight this year," Hali whispered, eyes on the arena. "No armor... This fellow must be pretty confident."

"Or fast," J. agreed.

"The battle will be fought in the time span of half an hour. During that time, the battle shall commence. Maiming or killing is not permitted. The opponents shall receive no outside assistance- healing, weapons, advice- or they shall be disqualified and labeled as the loser in the duel. The duel will conclude when one of the contestants surrenders. If neither surrenders before the time is up, the panel of judges will decide the match- based on the techniques and recovery as well as first blood and first fall. It is not permitted to use the magical Gift during the duel, nor any items with the Gift imbued upon them. This includes amulets and talismans."

Both of the competitors nodded. They were expressionless, as tradition dictated- in a Yamani duel, emotions of any kind- pain, triumph, hate- were excessively frowned upon. Those who took agony without a twitch, who could smile placidly as they lost, or look respectfully calm as they tried to stab you with a razor sharp dagger were admired immensely.

"Begin!" bellowed Master, and they began.

**(A/N: Sorry for the long wait. It took me a while to write this. I kept feeling like I was rushing the plot a little. Next up- can Sir Kallin really beat Lelani, the Shang Phoenix? What does J. think of Gabriel, Hali's blond twin? What does he think of her? Keep reading and reviewing and happy Fourth of July!)**


	4. The Duel and the Aftermath

**The Yamani Isles- The Traditional Duel Arena at the Festival of the WaveWalker**

Lelani Bakkuri, Shang Phoenix. Sir Kallin, the close-combat artist from Tortall. J knew that the match was in the bag for Lelani, she knew that there was no other possible way that this match could end for Kallin but in defeat. She knew that, and she knew that everyone else knew it too. So why did she feel so on edge?

The combatants were both great, no doubt about it, but the Shang Phoenix _never_ lost. Not since she was a little child, still in training. The best warriors in the Yamani Isles together couldn't beat her, even working together. Lelani could defeat hordes of soldiers in just a few minutes. And yet J felt absolutely certain that Kallin was capable of beating the Phoenix. _Why?_

And then she knew. It was that look in Lelani's eye. Last year, as it was most years, there had been a distinct disgust in her eyes as she pounded that fool within an inch of his life. That disgust gave her power, the feeling that she was defending the sport of close combat dueling against this oaf who dared to desecrate its name. But this year, her opponent was clearly not an oaf. And the look hidden deep within her eyes was not one of disgust or hatred- but one of kinship.

Lelani understood her opponent, liked him, even. And while she would fight her hardest, her heart would not be supporting the strength of her blows, because Kallin was a brother to her.

Kallin felt the same, she could see. This duel was far more evenly matched than it seemed at first glance. Kallin had a slender, well muscled build. His face was impassive but his eyes were sharp and piercing, and, like a window into his soul, they showed the fiery passion that he fought with.

J. had a feeling that this match might be a tough one.

Kallin shifted his weight slightly, as if to lunge, and then fell back as Lelani anticipated his move. She was merciless. She rained blows down upon him like hellfire, and there was no doubt that each one was agonizing. Kallin countered smoothly despite the pain, sliding so that he was at a forty-five degree angle to the ground and leaning back and knocked out her feet from under her. He was on her like a cougar. He relied more on his knife than Lelani, but was no less agile for it.

The blade was an extension of his arm. He jabbed viciously, so fast that his arm was a blur. Lelani used her knife for blocking and managed a few blows, but for the moment, the match was at a standstill.

"No _way_." Hali was glued to the match, black eyes wide. "No _way_! This guy's impossible!"

He was a knife specialist, anyone could see that. If Lelani could only separate him from his blade the match would be hers again. The only issue was- he was a knife specialist. His bladework was so skilled, quick and deadly, you could see his knife cutting patterns in the air itself. It would take a miracle to separate hand from hilt, like splitting body and soul, or peeling rice paper into two impossibly thin pieces.

Fortunately for Lelani, she was really good at that kind of thing. She mirrored his move from before, with a slight alteration. After knocking his feet from under him, she spun sideways on one hand, parallel to the ground. At such a speed, she eliminated the possibility of Kallin regaining balance at such a critical juncture.

He was ready for this, and did a complete backflip, never faltering once. He ducked her fists and darted in. In less than a second, a moment, a _breath_, he somersaulted away, landing in a squat, ready for a counter.

His knife glistened red- with blood.

The Shang Phoenix was legendary, her battles known throughout the lands. She was deadly. She had trained ever since she could stand. As a third birthday gift, her father gave her a set of shuriken throwing knives. At the age of eight, she could best any soldier in the palace in bare-fisted combat. Her master, the Shang Cougar, was the only one who could even touch her in a fight, and when he died, she was the uncontested champion.

Until now. The arena was silent. Lelani stood, a large gash visible across her upper right arm. She did not disgrace her opponent by visibly showing her shock, but it was clear in her eyes. Even Kallin looked awkward, as though he did not know what to do now that he had somehow cut the Phoenix herself.

Lelani saw his consternation and smiled. "Forgive me," she said in a surprisingly soft voice, "Let the duel continue."

He needed no other words. He knew that first blood did not mean the battle was over, and he wasted no time flying at her and parrying blow for blow.

They were a flurry of kicks and punches, and Lelani was forced for the first time to use her blade offensively. Kallin's strategy- dart in, attack, escape, repeat-was of no use in this battle. It was hard to tell which arms belonged to who and to whom the blood on the ground belonged. Then, quick as quick could be, Kallin had Lelani pinned down, his knife at her throat and her knife at his.

There was dead silence among the spectators. J could hear Hali's breath and her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

"I surrender."

There was no mistaking it. Kallin's voice echoed throughout the arena and the stands and he dropped his blade as he stood. With a genuine smile, he bowed to the startled Lelani.

Master spoke up, mostly to cover the shock. "Kallin surrenders, conceding the match to the Shang Phoenix. By the rules, Lelani Bakkuri is the victor!"

J and Hali leapt to their feet with the crowd, cheering and clapping and whistling. As the weary Lelani ascended the platform to accept her applause, the cheering peaked to such a level it left J. feeling out of breath. And none of them noticed as Kallin quietly disappeared from the duel arena.

* * *

"Why? Why would he concede the match?"

"J, I told you. _I don't know._"

"But he had his knife at her neck! He'd won the match! It was his victory." J sighed in exasperation and slumped on the bench in the prayer garden.

"_I don't know._"

"But-"

"You aren't thinking things through." A new voice from behind her sounded suddenly, and J flinched, startled. A kid a little taller than her stood behind the bench. His blond hair was tousled and the silver circlet marking him as the second-in-line to the throne was slightly crooked. He carried an open book and a small satchel hung over his shoulder. His eyes, a dark blue, were sparking with irritation. "You're not very observant, are you, Jiikira? Or is it 'J'?"

"Ack!" J nearly fell off the bench. "When did you get here?"

"I've been here listening to you complain to Hali the entire time. You really don't notice much, do you? It's not good to be too oblivious."

"You're... you're..."

"My name is Gabriel." He surveyed her blandly, and then folded the book he held and stuck it in the satchel. "Do you want to know why Kallin surrendered? It's really quite simple."

"Of course I do!"

"Well then." He leaned over and propped up his head in his hands. "Unlike you, he was thinking things through. At the end, he had Lelani pinned down, his blade at her neck, her blade at his. First, while Lelani had a few visible cuts, they were not very deep. Kallin, on the other hand, had been used as a punching bag this entire fight. His wounds were not visible, but they were many and no doubt very painful. Second, it was extremely unlikely that Lelani would surrender, and certainly he could not have maintained that stance for the remaining 9 minutes of the duel. She could have easily regained control, used her own knife to disarm him in a heartbeat, and beaten him to a pulp."

J ground her teeth. "She couldn't have done that! His blade was at her throat!"

Gabriel looked almost unnecessarily calm as he sighed. "It's not as though he could have slit her throat, that would be against the rules of 'No killing or maiming.' Anything he could have done would have been done in return tenfold, as her blade was at his throat. There's no threat to a knife at your throat if you can't carry through and kill the person you threaten. All in all, the most intelligent thing to do was to surrender. He couldn't have won and he knew it."

"But he was much more skilled with the blade than Lelani! He could have disarmed her and then-"

"And then he would have lost his grip on her and she would have gotten free, retrieved her blade and disarmed him in the confusion, leaving him defenseless against her double-bladed attack. Foolish at the best of times."

"Ugh! Stop interrupting me, you-"

He frowned his mouth forming into a thin line. "You said you want to know why Kallin surrendered. All I'm doing is telling you. A wise man once said 'A fool is one who refuses to see the truth they search for.' I suppose that makes you a fool, then."

"You don't have to be such a know-it-all!" J was standing now, fury flowing freely in her veins. "What, do you think you're superior to me because you read so much? Maybe I have better things to do than be a jerk to people I just met! Why don't you just leave me alone?"

He looked at her. His face was bitter, anger burning in the blue depths of his eyes. "Better a know-it-all than a fool. You asked. Is it my fault you don't want to listen?"

Hali stood and shoved her brother. She still managed to look prim and proper as she did it- her hair was still perfect in its black bun, not a single thread astray on her pretty kimono. "Gabriel! Just because you don't like tournaments, that doesn't mean you can be rude to my friend. Apologize to J, now!"

He did have the grace to look genuinely ashamed of himself as he apologized. "Forgive me, Jiikira. I got carried away." He paused and narrowed his eyes. "But you were still wrong. It's useless to argue a hopeless point. Trust me- I know."

He pulled out his book and walked off, not looking where he was stepping at all. J glared after him, irritation swelling within her.

_He enjoys making a fool of me, treating me like I'm years younger than him. He can't see beyond his own self-importance! Prince Gabriel indeed. Ha! A fine emperor he would make, ordering everyone around. Jerk.

* * *

_

**In the Bedchamber of Prince Gabriel**

Gabriel dropped his satchel on his desk. The room was covered in clutter and junk. For a moment he wished the maids would clean in here, but he swept the thought away. Last time they cleaned, they had just taken all of his stuff and thrown it away, including his bird-watching journal and his homework for the next day's class with his and Hali's private tutor.

He slumped on the bed. Hali's new friend had gotten under his skin. That brat, Jiikira. It was thoroughly disconcerting just to look at her- all that white hair freaked him out. But not only did she look weird with white hair and brown eyes, she also had to be a tenacious, uneducated, foolish, agonizingly annoying little freak. She asked him to explain the match and he explained it, and then she exploded in his face.

And then Hali stepped in, betraying him to go comfort her new best friend. _"Just because you don't like tournaments-"_

_You don't know the half of it. _

**(A/N: Here! An extra chappie to make up for the wait! I was itching to introduce Gabriel anyway, and I just couldn't stop writing. And here's the result!)**


	5. Morning Prayers

**The Yamani Isles- the Emperor's Palace, the Living Quarters of Kisha, High Priestess of the Wavewalker.**

"Jiikira!" It was Kisha, calling wearily from the other room. The High Priestess was exhausted from the ceremonies ending the festival the night before, and she was so sore that she could scarcely move without crutches. "Come in here once you're finished with your morning prayers. There's something I'd like to speak with you about."

"Yes, Kisha, I'll be there in a few minutes. I just need to finish brushing my hair. It's-all-snarled!" The last word came out as a growl as J yanked hard on the comb to no avail. It was like one of the thickly woven tapestries Hali and she had admired at the festival, only much uglier.

"Well, if you hadn't gone swimming in the pond and then put it up without combing it properly-"

"I _know!_" J sighed. It was her fault, but it would have to wait. With a sigh, she tied it back in a dark blue ribbon that she'd purchased at the festival. It looked pretty enough, but she was painfully aware of the matted texture under the smooth surface. It tugged irritatingly, especially just behind the ears.

J kicked off her slippers as she approached the shrine of Yama, the fire goddess. Now that the Wavewalker festival was over, she had gone back to worshipping her preferred deity. She had always liked Yama, the passionate mother of the Yamani. The shrine was just a prayer mat, a few candles, some incense, and a bronze idol of the benevolent mother goddess.

Kisha had objected to the shrine at first, as was natural. The High Priestess of Oinomi Wavewalker could hardly worship Yama- the Wavewalker would strike her down with one blow. But after much wheedling, Kisha had decided that, so long as J also gave prayers to Wavewalker, it was permissible to worship Yama. After all, Yama would be unhappy with them if they did not worship her as well.

J liked this small, undecorated shrine much better than the extravagant, brightly colored Wavewalker shrine at the other end of the room, but it was necessary. The Wavewalker liked extravagance and brightness.

J lit the four candles and the incense, and then knelt. She put her palms flat on the prayer mat and bowed down, touching her forehead to the ground.

_Thank you for guiding me to my new friend. I could not be happier. Please, great goddess, shelter and protect our friendship as you shelter and protect a new flame, feeding it until it can shine alone._

Typically she would say more, asking Yama to protect her and lady Kisha and of course, the great emperor as well, but today she just ended with, _Also, please give me the chance to prove myself to Gabriel and show him I'm not an idiot._

She sat up, blew out the candles and pinched out the incense, and on an impulse, stopped and bowed again, pressing her forehead to the ground, almost in a gesture of thanks.

J walked over to the other side of the room, where the colored glass and gemstone idol of Oinomi Wavewalker glittered in the light from the window. She bowed, pressing her forehead to the ground, but could not think of anything much to pray for, except _Please protect Lady Kisha. She is the only family I have, _as she did every day.

"Coming, Kisha!"

_

* * *

_

**The Bedchambers of the Crown Princess Halina**

Hali yawned and sat up, rubbing her face to wake herself up. "Good morning, Lia."

"Good morning, Crown Princess." Lia paused to smile as she filled Hali's washbasin with warm water. "Sleepyhead. Your brother is already awake. He seemed worried about something."

"He's _always_ worried about something. He'll forget it as soon as Master Chiko starts talking about some new book or math assignment."

"If you say so, Crown Princess."

Hali washed her face in the porcelain washbasin and brushed her hair a few strokes before tying it back in a bun and arranging her circlet so that it fit on neatly and wouldn't fall off. She picked a dark blue kimono patterned with white cherry blossoms, and because she felt like doing something new, tied a white silk scarf around her waist.

"Master Chiko will throw a fit when he sees what you're wearing, Crown Princess."

"I suppose he will, but it can't be helped." She grabbed her slippers and was about to run out when Lia spoke.

"Wait, Crown Princess! You can't skip morning prayers again! The gods will be angry with you!"

She skidded to a halt. "I'm nearly late as it is, Lia, I can't stop to pray!"

Lia looked at her with agonized eyes. "Please, Crown Princess! For me?"

Hali groaned and ran back into her room. She took off her crown and her slippers and placed them on the bed before kneeling before the Sakuyo Trickster shrine. She pressed her forehead to the ground and thought quickly, _Um, prayers, prayers... Oh! I have one! Help J not to be so timid. It's getting on my nerves. And help Gabriel with whatever he's worried about, will you? And since I'm going to be late, will you make Master Chiko not mad at me? Thanks, got to go!_

She grabbed her stuff and ran.

* * *

**The Bedchambers of the Lord Prince Gabriel**

Gabriel wasn't happy. His sister, his twin who he had trusted everything to, had left him alone and gone to go cheer up an opinionated brat. He knelt, forehead pressed to the ground, in front of the Oinomi Wavewalker shrine. She smiled kindly at him from where her statue rested on its plinth, calming like the waves lapping peacefully against the shore.

_Offer me guidance, Wavewalker. How can I get that Jiikira girl to stop nagging at me in my head_?_ Why did Hali forget about me and our bond? Why can't I think straight... Oh. That's probably because I'm tired... How can I prove to Hali that I'm more worthy of her friendship than J?_

His thoughts drifted, and he didn't notice until the maid, Lia spoke.

"Lord Prince, are you well? You have been sitting like that for nearly an hour, and I was beginning to think maybe you'd drifted off."

"I'm fine," he said with a smile. "Really, Lia."

* * *

**The Divine Realms**

Yama smiled warmly as she looked upon the snow-haired girl in the orb. The prayer was heartfelt and warmed her like embers burning bright in the coals. The best prayers always did.

"Hmph."

Yama smiled sweetly at the other goddess. "Miffed, Oinomi? I know you wanted this one for yourself, but it seems she just wouldn't have you, would she? And she lives with your High Priestess of all people! She's raised by one of your most devout followers yet, but what does she want? A shrine to me. How sweet, don't you think?"

"She prays to me, too." Oinomi was in the form of a gazelle-like woman, dark skinned, with kohl lining her eyes in a seductive manner. Her dress was silken and a beautiful deep blue that accented her sapphire eyes.

"Only because she has to. You know that as well as I." Yama was in the form of a small but beautiful little girl in a scarlet kimono, maybe four or five, but with terrible knowing eyes that glowed like coals.

Sakuyo, in the form of a handsome, if slightly impish, young man, sidled up to Oinomi and smirked. "Well, Sister Yama, you wanted the little girl Hali, too. But she's got the spirit of a trickster, no doubt about it. Just look at the prayer she sent me today."

Yama looked as disdainful as a little girl of five possibly could. "She's just so _scatterbrained_. I don't know how you can put up with her."

Sakuyo laughed. "None of my worshippers are very devout. That would defeat the purpose of being the Trickster god."

"Shh! Don't say that name where Kyprioth might hear. You know he's jealous when it comes to that title."

Feeling left out, Oinomi put in, "Well, Yama, I got that cute little Gabriel. He'll be so handsome when he grows up. Those _eyes._ I always did love pretty things. He prayed to me for nearly an hour this morning. It seems he's had his little heart broken over that sister of his. Poor thing."

Sakuyo winked. "Tough luck, having a sister chosen by the Trickster."

"Shut _up!_ Kyprioth-"

"Kyprioth is over in the Copper Isles arguing over some silly little thing with Mithros and the Goddess. He won't bother us. Besides, he owes me after that incident with the-"

"You fool! We're to keep that quiet! Do you want Mithros on our tails, too?"

Sakuyo sulked. "Fine. I was just going anyway. I have some lives to interfere in."

Oinomi nodded. "Me, too."

The little scarlet-clad girl sat gazing into the orb a moment longer before disappearing in a sudden burst of flame.

_Gods all bless, Jiikira of Xiala_, she thought with a quiet laugh, _Gods all bless._

**(A/N: This chapter just came to me as I was writing it. It wasn't supposed to be here at all. J is insecure, Hali is late, Gabriel is having abandonment issues**_, _**and there's something sneaky going on in the Divine Realms. What next?)**_  
_


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